As Alex Ovechkin retreated into his seat on the podium, he was enveloped by a hoard of media members. Ovechkin had just recorded a primary assist on the game-winning goal in Russia's 3-0 victory against Finland in 2016. The result set up a date with Canada in the World Cup of Hockey semifinals, two global hockey powerhouses ripe with star players.
But of course, no one was there to ask Ovechkin about Russia vs. Canada or even how Russia fared in its most recent victory. Everyone only had one question in mind, and it was centered around yet another matchup between Ovechkin and his foil, Sidney Crosby.
Another chance for Ovechkin to improve his image, to wash away perception that he Can't Get Over the Hump, and isn't a winner, whatever those things mean.
"I have lots of big games," Ovechkin said, asked if this was another big moment in his career which, Ovechkin astutely pointed out, has been full of them.
GOLDEN STANDARD
How Vegas became the most successful expansion team in sports history
Russia went on to lose its next game to Canada. Ovechkin was held without a point, while Crosby had a goal and two assists. And those are the things people tend to remember, because in sports, your failures get more attention that your successes.
On Monday, Ovechkin and the Capitals finally did what they — emphasis on "they," because this is a team sport, so it's a collective subject — have not done in 20 years: They won a second-round Stanley Cup playoff matchup, advancing to the Eastern Conference finals.
Of course, that game and that moment should not define Ovechkin, who has a career that stands on its own, with accomplishments and accolades that frame him as one of the best players of all time — something that not even a lack of team success can deprive him of.
Because that's who Ovechkin is, and who he has been for the past decade, independent from the number of playoff rounds he wins with the Capitals, or how deep he's played in international tournaments with Russia. And no, the Capitals' victory over the Penguins Monday night in Game 6 which sends Ovechkin to his first-career conference final does not change this a lick, but it should help to reinforce it.
MORE: F-bombs, Kuznetsov fly after Capitals overcome Penguins, themselves
Ovechkin is perhaps the greatest pure goal scorer in NHL history. With some good health and a continued ability to define age curves, Ovechkin could (though it remains unlikely) catch Wayne Gretzky and finish as the NHL's most accomplished goal scorer. But any era adjusting will show just how close Ovechkin already is to being the best ever.
He has performed and produced in the NHL playoffs. This is perhaps one of the bigger misconceptions surrounding Ovechkin that is out there. Entering the 2018 postseason, Ovechkin had scored 46 goals and 90 points in 96 playoff games. He was tied for fourth in playoff goal-scoring over that span with Patrick Sharp, and only Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane scored more than them.
Of players to appear in at least 50 playoff games, Ovechkin is first in goals-per game over that span factoring in this year's playoff production.
These are the things people won't tell you about Ovechkin, because the other thing that's been a constant since he arrived in Washington is the Capitals have failed to get past the second round. Of course, that should not fall on his shoulders, but boy does it make for an attention-grabbing headline when you can pin the failures of a franchise on one player, question his leadership abilities, and even go as far to say the Capitals would be better off without him.
MORE: On Tom Wilson and becoming an NHL villain
In six games against the Penguins, Ovechkin scored three goals and recorded four assists, one of which sprung Evgeny Kuznetsov on a breakaway in overtime before he scored the series-clinching goal. Ovechkin was everything the Capitals could have expected him to be, but that's often the case from No. 8 in red, even when the results haven't fallen Ovechkin's way.
Of course, the Capitals superstar has been more of a victim of circumstance more than anything. He's constantly compared to Crosby, selected No. 1 in the NHL Draft a year after Ovechkin himself had the distinction, and has played in an era of a few dominant franchises, one of which (the Penguins) has often dashed Washington's Stanley Cup dreams.
Crosby was asked if Caps are different this year: "I thought they were pretty relentless the last couple years, too. The games are separated by one goal here, mistake here, mistake there. I didn’t see them give in before. That’s an easy storyline because we ended up winning."
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) May 7, 2018
It is very, very hard to win a professional sports championship. That the Capitals had gone this amount of time without reaching a conference final was more of a testament to that than an indictment of a single player (not to mention, as laid out, the single player had been really good).
This year, the bounces went the Capitals' way. Maybe the Penguins were fatigued playing their 16th playoff series over the past six years, sandwiched around 82-game regular seasons and trips to tournaments like the World Cup.
There's also the undeniable fact that this year's Capitals team was worse than some of its predecessors. Not only did it finish with a lower point total in the regular season (a very incomplete, thin way to judge a team), but they had to make tough decisions on players due to salary cap constraints, had to play through the ups and downs of Braden Holtby, and generally did not turn in close to the same results as years past.
MORE: Controversial Tom Wilson has built career on blurring lines
Which speaks to the cruel nature of team sports, and the ridiculousness of how Ovechkin was crucified for the Capitals' lack of success. And you just know that if the Capitals can't find a way to get past the Lightning, even if Ovechkin continues to produce at a high level, those same, tired narratives will be back.
"The Capitals can't win with Ovechkin"; "Ovechkin can't perform in the clutch"; "Where does Washington go from here?"
And through it all, Ovechkin will continue to do what he's always done: He'll score goals, he'll speak his mind, and continue to be one of the biggest driving forces behind the Capitals' success.
If advancing past the second round and the Penguins is really enough to finally take the heat off Ovechkin, to change the conversation and allow him to be viewed in the proper light, then let's champion the result, if only because it helped rid the stench of these narratives once and for all.
That probably wasn't lost on Ovechkin. As Kuznetsov skated in on Matt Murray and slipped the puck through his legs, the final ax in the trunk to topple the towering tree, Ovechkin raised his arms, looked up at the heavens, and watched the demons fly out of his chest and into the rafters of PPG Paints Arena.
feed me your takes pic.twitter.com/JABDSNnmmX
— Filipovic Forsberg (@DimFilipovic) May 8, 2018
Then came his postgame interview with Pierre McGuire, a chance to spell out his relief, verbalize his exhalation for the first time. Much like the rest of the Capitals scorers, Ovechkin only had one thing on his mind as Kuznetsov skated in, a trip to the Eastern Conference finals on his stick.
"Please score," Ovechkin said. "Just f—ing please score."
And just please leave those Ovechkin jokes, the ones with the punchlines about the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, in the past.